New brew pub coming to downtown Visalia

Visalia may not have much water this summer but at least it looks like we will have beer.

Brothers Matt and Mike McWilliams plan to open the town’s second brewery/restaurant combination in Downtown Visalia this fall. Swaggers Brewery will celebrate the craft beer explosion sweeping the country in a portion of the former Surplus City building on Main Street.

The micro brewery will be just down the block from pioneer beer maker Brewbakers as well as a few blocks away from the new Sequoia Brewing Co. that will open for business in about a month. That new eatery will feature Fresno micro-brewed beer.

“This is a dream we’ve had for the past two years” says Mike McWilliams. “Downtown Visalia seems to be the right place to make it happen. It’s the destination of choice.”

Mike McWilliams is the face of the business and marketing side of the partnership and says his brother Matt has been home brewing for about 10 years.

The brewmaster has perhaps 30 full-flavored beer recipes that they will prepare in the 6,000 square-foot space being leased from a Visalia partnership group. The 10-foot brewing tanks as well as the kitchen will take up about half the building and the restaurant space will seat 165 customers including 40 at the bar.

“We plan to have great food,” Mike McWilliams said.

Gourmet burgers and pizza are among the entrees.

McWilliams says the brewing process will be in the open as it is at Brewbakers. The partners hope to have some dining in front of the building as other Main Street eateries do.

Next door, Swaggers’ co-tenant in the former Surplus City will be the General’s Trading Post, formerly Easley’s Gun Shop, taking about 3,000 square-feet — or roughly a third of the building.

Building co-owner, Harvey May, says construction on both projects will start this week. May had a hand in bringing in Sequoia Brewing Company.

How popular are micro breweries? One report suggest that on average, a new brewery opens its doors every single day in the the United States.

The Boulder Colorado Brewers Association, the trade association representing small and independent American craft brewers, recently released 2014 data on craft brewing growth. For the first time ever, craft brewers reached double-digit (11 percent) volume share of the marketplace.

In 2014, craft brewers produced 22.2 million barrels, and saw an 18 percent rise in volume and a 22 percent increase in retail dollar value. Retail dollar value was estimated at $19.6 billion representing 19.3 percent of the market share.

If craft brew is going local — the big names in beer in the past appear to be struggling to retain market share as they try to appeal to millennials.

Budweiser’s market share fell to 8.7 percent in 2013 from 14.3 percent in 2005, according to data firm Euromonitor. Budweiser is looking overseas for growth — which represent 60 percent of sales.

The Visalia Budweiser distributor, Sequoia Beverage, took the new brew pub owner of Sequoia Brewing Company to court but lost over use of the name. A local judge ruled consumers would not likely be confused. Even if their sales may be down, the distributor also sells plenty of the Mexican brands through retail outlets including Modelo and Corona enjoying widespread popularity along with craft beer sales.

Mexican beer owner, Constellation Brands, recently announced sales were up 24 percent for fiscal 2015, mostly due to strong Mexican beer sales even though wine and spirits sales increased just 1 percent.